“Bodie is by far the best preserved ghost town in the United States. Gold was discovered back in 1859 by William S Bodey and at its apex, the town had a population of 10,000 residents through the 1880’s. Bodie was replete with the makings of old west folklore; gunfighters, saloons, miners, gambling halls and prostitutes, a rough place through and through. But the town’s success didn’t last and faded from ‘glory’ prior to World War I and was finally down for the count during WWII once all mining operations were halted due to the war effort. It was effectively abandoned with many of the structures retaining the inhabitants belongings…”

Posted by: Mark Newton in UncategorizedComments Off on Oradour-sur-Glane

Another town for the Dying Earth files: Oradour-sur-Glane was destroyed in 1944 by a German Waffen-SS company, which then slaughtered 642 of its inhabitants. Women and children were locked in the church while men were put in barns where machine-guns were waiting to be used on them. Later, the women heard the guns firing before they, too, were killed. Though there is no explanation for the massacre, this narrative contains some of the background story. The town has since been preserved as a reminder of these events.